Carol I of Romania
King of Romania from 1881 to 1914 · Germany · On the map · Historical Figures · Lived 1839 to 1914 · aged 75
A German prince imported to hold together two fractious provinces, Carol I turned a shaky experiment into a kingdom - then spent fifty years navigating the gap between his dynasty's ties and his adopted country's enemies.
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Carol I of Romania edited
1866PRINCIPAT
1878PRINCIPAT
Ajdukiewicz - Revista Armatei Române în prezenţa M.S. Împăratului şi Regelui Francisc Josif I, 1897
Ruling Monarchs in 1908 Postcard Print
Ruling-monarchs
Act of foundation of the University of Bucharest signed by Prince Carol I
Actul de incoronare a regelui Carol I al RomanieiAwards
About this person
Born Karl von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1839, he was elected Prince of the Romanian United Principalities in 1866 after a palace coup unseated Alexandru Ioan Cuza. He personally led troops in the Russo-Turkish War, commanded the siege of Plevna, and secured independence in 1878; three years later he was proclaimed King. His reign saw railways and factories rise and rival Liberal and Conservative parties vie for power, but the progress came with scandal - the Strousberg Affair directly touched him - and the peasantry remained desperate, erupting in a 1907 revolt crushed by force. He had secretly allied Romania with Austria-Hungary in 1883, against popular sentiment, but couldn't activate the pact when war began in 1914. He died in October of that year, childless after losing his only daughter Maria at four, leaving the throne to pass through his brother's line to the future Ferdinand.
